


A Different Kind of Wonderland

by springdistance



Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, Familial Relationship, Friendship, Love, Mild Language, Modern Girl in Middle Earth, Romance, mild violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2019-07-06 01:03:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15875295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/springdistance/pseuds/springdistance
Summary: RECONSTRUCTION IS FINISHEDA NEW CHAPTER ONE IS NOW POSTEDA psychology student. That’s all Alice was. Doomed to study for the rest of her life… Well, that’s how she felt, anyway. The only destiny she ever knew she had was to pet puppies, take 20 hours of school a semester, work part-time in a ceramic studio, dodge her sister’s constant nagging, and have a next-to-nothing social life. That is until the day her curiosity got the best of her. I mean, she had been warned to never fall asleep in class.Follow along with Alice’s adventures in Middle Earth (you see what I did there), as she discovers friendship, family, loss, destiny, and what it means to truly love and care for someone.





	1. IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT FUTURE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEW CHAPTER ONE HAS BEEN POSTED. I WILL BE DELETING THIS NOTICE AFTER A WEEK OR SO FOR READERS WHO HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING ALONG.

To my dear readers,

I’m so sorry I haven’t updated in a long time... That’s kind of what this update/note is about. So, please read because it’s important to me that I share my plans for this story with you all. 

I started writing this story almost 4 years ago and didn’t share it because it was just something I did willy-nilly. I actually had no intention on sharing the first 2 chapters because I didn’t like them very much and had planned on re-writing them. You could say they were a skeleton: my ideas written out. The reason for not wanting to post them was because I spent the past 3ish years developing this plot and the characters even further. Especially, Alice’s development because even I can admit that her characterization is awful in the first couple of chapters and it unfortunately continues because I was trying to be consistent. So, in other words, the first two chapters were very rough first drafts. A way to get my idea written down because that’s just how I do things. 

But, due to laziness and the fact that I really wanted to share this story and continue writing it, I decided to post the first two chapters with very little editing in character execution. 

With that being said, it has been VERY hard for me to continue writing this story with the first two chapters being like they are. So, after a bunch of frustrating days and trial and errors since September, I have finally let go of my stubbornness and decided that I’m going to edit and restructure the first couple of chapters and the new ones that are posted in order to continue with consistency! I might even add another chapter in the mix. 

I know some of you have been anxious to find out what’s happening and the connections I will be making after that last chapter, but If I continue with the plot I’ve been working on for so long, it will make the story horribly inconsistent and the plot would be extremely forced all because of those first two chapters. AND all because I didn’t take time to develop our dear Alice. Also, if I attempted to continue the story in the path that it has already taken... Oh, god... It would be awful and disappointing. 

Besides, after this restructuring, I know a lot of you will love Alice because I will finally be writing her the way she was meant to be written and not this Mary Sue crap that I started with and had to continue with for consistency.

Thank you all for your patience! I hope you will stick around. It’ll be posted very soon! I can’t wait for you all to read it because it’s going to be AMAZING. Seriously... The plot is like so rounded.

With much love and appreciation, 

Author


	2. Ch 1: Curiousity Killed the Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-write with stronger plot lines, details, and characterization. If you have read the original, I recommend taking the time and re-reading this chapter. Even though some things are still similar, it has been completely re-written in a lot of other aspects. The first chapter will be the only chapter that has minor changes. Any other previous chapters will have a lot more change and added dialogue. 
> 
> This is essentially a brand new story!

“Alice, _come on_ … You’ve been studyin’ all day! It’s like 8 o’clock! You need to do somethin’ fun! I’ve got a group together, with a couple of _super cute guys_ , and we’re going to that really upscale wine bar downtown… You need to come with us! I’ll even buy you food and drinks if that’ll get your skinny little butt out of the library! You _never_ leave-” The young girl banged her head on the library table, lifting her phone away so she didn’t have to hear anymore of her older sister’s constant rambling. She didn’t sit back up until after hearing her sister scream her name through the phone.

 

“Sara! _Stop_ … I promise I will go out with you next weekend- Sara, _no_ \- Would you please stop talking for like two seconds! Good Lord… _Look_ , I have a big test to take tomorrow morning before a major lab in my science class is due… No, it’s the test that allows me to move onto my paid internship... Alright, yeah, love you too.” Alice set her phone down and let out a large sigh as her head fell to the paper and book cladded table. She loved her sister dearly, but that didn’t mean she had to _like_ her sometimes.  

 

“It’s not her fault I’m trying to become a psychiatrist... _And_ that I don’t entirely enjoy social gatherings...” Alice whispered to herself before sitting back up and getting back to work.

 

 It was around 9:30 before Alice decided to pack up her things and make her way out of the library with her headphones over her ears blaring some new obscure indie band that her art professor recommended. She didn’t care how ridiculous she looked in her large, noise canceling headphones while everyone was running around with their AirPods barely peeking from the folds of their hair. Being able to be alone with her thoughts without hearing every conversation around her was worth the discomfort of the heavy weight covering her ears. Especially after a long day of studying.

 

Even though it wasn’t necessarily late for University standards, the campus itself was darker than usual with several sidewalk lanterns turned off. However, Alice was unfazed by the lack of light considering her vision was rather perfect, but the several people who were still out had there phone flashlight’s turned on trying to hurry to their next destination. So, that helped a bit. Some students were scurrying to the next party down the street at a Frat house (no doubt Freshman who didn’t want to be caught), others were heading to their dorm, and she was heading to the apartments across the street.

 

“Alice! _Alice_!”

 

Completely oblivious to the person calling her name, she kept walking toward the shortcut she takes when it’s late. Before the blonde could enter the building, a hand grabbed a hold of her headphones, pulling them off her ears.

 

“Alice!” Her breath hitched in her throat as she whipped her head around to see her best friend standing there with her hands on her hips.

 

“Victoria!  _Are you serious_? Don’t  _scare_  me like that!” She let her headphones drop around her neck before letting out a deep breath and running a hand through her blonde hair.

 

“Well, I wouldn’t‘ve had to if you could hear me calling your name! I know why you wear those things but sheesh” Alice laughed at herself before apologizing to her best friend and pulling the door open to the building; however, Victoria grabbed her backpack and pulled her back.

           

“Oh. My. Gosh.  _What_? Just _come_ with me!” Victoria shook her head causing curly burgundy strands to fly out of her messy bun that had obviously been through one hell of a day in the ER before hitting class.

 

“No way.” Alice looked at her friend incredulously. “Alice, it’s part of the many reasons why I’ve said to ‘not fall asleep in your Science class.’” Victoria gave her a motherly look, which Alice returned with an exaggerated eye roll. 

 

“Look, I love you and you’re my best friend and all, but you are  _far_  too paranoid sometimes.” Alice gave her friend a mocking smile and tried to open the door to the building but was stopped again by Victoria slamming her hand above the handle and closing it.

 

“Al, _I’m serious_! Those science weirdos, who are all obsessed with— _you know_ — _the weird stuff,_ have been going in there after hours doing…  _God knows what_! I’d rather not accidentally run into one of them. What if they capture us and want to keep us as an experiment?” Alice’s face deadpanned at her best friend’s explanation. The two girls had a very lengthy  _30 second_  stare down.

 

“Yeah,  _you’re too paranoid_.” Before Victoria could stop her friend again, Alice had managed to get the door opened and marched into the science building looking around at the somewhat quiet and empty hallways as she tried to make it to the other side.

 

“Alice… Why can’t you just walk  _around_  like  _normal_  people... I’m sure this is still breakin’ and enterin’. Especially since you don’t exactly have authorization to be here after hours.” Alice looked back at Victoria and rolled her eyes once again.

 

“Neither do you, yet you followed me in here!” 

 

“I have more authorization to be here and _you know it_! I even have a keycard!” Alice made a face at her friend. Apparently she was out of comebacks. However, her face instantly went serious because she definitely started to hear people. She just didn’t know from where or how far they were because the voices were very faint. She was about to grab her friend, but the blonde stopped in her tracks as a bright flash of light caught her attention down one of the corridors of the first floor causing Victoria to slam into her.

 

“ _Shhh_!”

 

“ _See, I told you something strange was going on_!” Victoria whispered to her friend who only nodded her head in agreement. Alice thought it be best to keep the voices she was hearing to herself for the moment because she knew if she said anything to Victoria, she would be dragged away before she could investigate. Victoria pointed the flashlight on her phone down the hall and nearly jumped out of her skin.

 

“ _Alice, what are you doing! Come back here!_ ” Alice turned around and looked at her friend with a cheeky smile.

 

“ _I want to go check it out!_ ” Victoria gasped at her.

 

“Al, you can’t do th-  _Alice_! Ugh… She’s worse than that girl in the Disney movie…” Victoria awkwardly ran to catch up with her friend while grumbling about how one day her fried will fall into a rabbit hole, too. Upon reaching the lab, Alice grabbed a tight hold of Victoria’s hand before peeking inside.

 

“Do you see anyone?” Alice shook her head and stepped inside of the room, still holding tight to her friend’s hand.

 

“See, Vick. It’s fine! There isn’t anyone in-  _What was that?!_ ” Alice and Victoria nearly jumped two feet in the air before holding each other close by the neck and waist. Alice made the first move to get them both to start shuffling around the room in order to try and find the source of the noise. At this point, they had already declared that they definitely wouldn’t last in a horror movie... Eventually, Alice’s heart rate calmed down enough to where she could let go of her friend.

 

“Look, a little cage! It must be the the _human they are experimenting on_ -”

 

“ _Alice, don’t do that!_ ” The blonde girl covered her mouth trying to suppress a loud eruption of laughter and eventually calmed down upon hearing the very soft sounds of an animal coming from the cage.

 

“Sorry, just trying to get you back for startling me earlier. Besides, that cage is way too small for a...  _whole human_.” Alice let out a soft giggle this time only to be shushed by Victoria. “Let’s let out what’s in there. It’s probably like a hamster or something.” Victoria’s hand reached out to Alice’s shoulder, stopping her.

 

“ _What if it has some weird zombie disease like from iZombie?!_ ”

 

“Like I said,  _you’re too paranoid_.” Her large blue eyes scanned the small sheet that was over the cage before lifting it up.

 

“It’s empty...” Alice looked at the cage with confusion and continued to search around and under the cage. I _could have sworn I heard something- Oh!_

 

“Hah,  _how fitting_ , Alice found a white rabbit.” Alice looked at her friend with annoyance. Victoria just shrugged and smiled at her. Obviously not sorry for her words. Alice bent down and picked up the rabbit that was hiding under the cage’s pedestal. Victoria shined the light on the creature and gasped. “Whoa! _Al_ , it’s eyes!”

 

“Well, you can tell me what’s wrong with them after we get the heck-“

 

“ _Who’s in there_?!” Footsteps echoed through the hallway toward the lab room and got louder and quicker at each passing second. Alice mentally reprimanded herself for forgetting about the faint voices she heard earlier because her curiosity once again got the better of her. 

           

“ _Crap_ , Alice!  _Capture_!” Victoria quickly covered the cage with the sheet just in time for them to duck and hide as the man approached the classroom and turned on the light.

 

“ _Who’s in here_?!”

 

Alice peeked from behind the cabinet she was hiding behind. A guy, who seemed a little older than her with a lab coat on, was standing in the doorway with his head turned the opposite way. Alice leaned back behind the cabinet as she could clearly hear where he was while walking around the room. Luckily, Victoria was able to get the back door of the classroom opened allowing the girls a clean escape to the hallway. Before either one could breathe, they took off running out of the building without turning back.

 

                            ...                                                        ...                                                 ...

  

“See, _I told you_ , Alice!” Victoria exclaimed as they made it to Alice’s apartment across the street. She was bent over trying to catch her breath and was low key jealous of the fact that Alice was unbothered by the running they just did.

 

“Not fully, Vick. We didn’t get _captured_ , and we aren’t being turned into ' _experiments_ '.” The blonde stuck her key into her apartment door and stepped inside, her friend following behind. 

 

“Speaking of experiments,  _why do you still have that rabbit_? I know you like to take in stray animals, but there might be something seriously wrong with that thing.” Alice looked at her friend before looking down at the rabbit. The little white rabbit stared back at her; both eyes were crystal blue. There was something that was otherworldly about them and not in a good way. They looked almost dead... Alice's face contorted in confusion only because she started feeling an uncomfortable aura coming from the rabbit.

 

“Creepy,  _right_? Not really what you would expect from an albino bunny.” Alice looked at her friend, pondering her comment for a moment.  _She’s right though, they are very creepy... What are those freaks doing in there? I might have to check it out again…_

 

“ _Oh, no you don’t, Al_. I know that look! You want to go back in there! Well, I’m not and I suggest you don’t either. _With that said_ … I’m going to go to bed before you make me do something else crazy! Good night!” Victoria left her friend’s apartment and went across to hers. 

 

Going into the only bedroom, Alice set the bunny on her bed before going to the bathroom to wash the reminisce of the day before hopping into bed with her new "pet". However, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this rabbit probably should have stayed in the cage. 

 

                                  ...                                                     ...                                               ...

 

“ _Bring me the one ring…”_

 

_Into the night, a group of white ghostly figures take off in search of the one ring. The leader was much more horrid to look at than any of the others: a wilted king with a face of death that looked as if it would crumble by a single touch. Despite the fact that all riders wore a crown of past royalty, this one in particular, held a higher status that anyone would be able to see. A status to be feared. A look into this creature’s dead gaze, and she could see secrets that were enough to make her body grow rigid and cold._

 

_Unmoving, unflinching, falling into the darkness of the creature’s eyes, but only to come face to face with something far worse… An eye of fire. An eye that not even the smallest of creatures could hide from. An eye that made her blood boil hot and skin catch flame and burn her alive-_

 

A scream. A scream that was enough to wake up her neighbors echoed through the small bedroom in her apartment. Alice’s hair clung to her skin as she sat up panting. “ _What kind of dream was that_?!”

 

Her voice barely reached her ears as her mind and body slowly started coming to reality as if they had left her completely. Soon, the only thing she could hear again was her box fan blowing against the wall. But the peace within her didn’t last... Her left arm was engulfed in pain and wasted no time in radiating through her body and burn her head. She fell back down to her bed harshly gripping her head while trying to scream for help over and over again. The tears came pouring from her eyes upon realizing that no one was coming because not a single sound from her was being made.

 

The pain seemed to last for hours, but only lasted about ten minutes or so. Panting, Alice grabbed her phone from her night stand and looked at the time.  _4 am_ … With a sigh, Alice shakily stood from her bed and walked out of her dark room. Flipping on the light to her bathroom, she took one look at herself in the mirror and cringed at her blurry reflection. What she could make out of her appearance through tear stained vision was utterly frightening.

 

Her dark blue eyes were bloodshot, her skin was deathly pale, her night shirt was plastered to her body with sweat, and her hair was stuck to her neck. She slowly reached up and cupped her face with her hands to feel her skin, but was shocked to feel that her cheeks, despite feeling hot, were actually ice cold to the touch. If that weren’t enough to surprise her, the bite on her left arm freaked her out even more. No doubt that those teeth marks belonged to the rabbit.

 

Trying to get her mind off of it, Alice decided to go ahead and take a shower, despite the fact that she really didn’t need to be up until around 6:30. She stripped off her shirt and underwear and entered the running water without waiting for it to warm up, not that she could really feel the difference in water temperature at the moment anyway. The water ran through her hair and over her uncharacteristically pale skin. Her mind wandered back to the dream as she allowed the water to caress her skin which instantly made her feel ten times better despite the fact that the bite on her arm slightly burned. It was a good thing that Victoria helps keep her first aid cabinet stocked. This isn’t exactly the first time she was bitten by an animal she took in.

 

“Why did that nightmare feel so real? Like I _actually_ went there?... And why in the world did I somehow feel connected to this place...” Her white skin started to gain more color without a trace of any sweat-induced nightmare keeping surface. Once she was all clean, she wrapped her hair and body in a towel and took another look in the mirror and began to towel dry her hair.

 

Sometimes she wished she had beautiful textured hair like Victoria. Hair that looked good in every way she styled it or colored it. Coloring and cutting her hair really short was something she was never allowed to do no matter how many times she begged her adopted parents. So, when she moved out, she decided to just start cutting it off to where it hardly brushed her shoulders. But, even though she always wanted curly or wavy hair, those desires were not there at the moment considering she was very thankful that her hair was naturally straight. Meaning, she might actually be able to get an extra 30 minutes of sleep now without having to curl her hair or even fix it.

 

She cleaned the wound on her arm then took another look at the clock on her phone sighing with relief that she still had an hour an half before her alarm was set to go off. She looked back up maybe a little too quickly and flinched at the leftover ache in her head. _Maybe it was the outcome of drinking too much coffee lately_ … She even had a tough time believing her own excuse.

Alice threw on another baggy t-shirt and underwear and settled herself back into her soft bed, placing her phone beside her. As she started drifting off to sleep, one last thought drifted through her mind:  _Where did that bunny go..._

 

                                        ...                                             ...                                       ...

 

_Ugh… That test was horrible…_  Alice whined and pushed up her sunglasses while readjusting her overnight bag and backpack on her shoulder. This morning was so not going well. First, she woke up later than she wanted to; second, that dang  _creepy_  bunny was nowhere to be found and the bite on her arm was itchy; and third, her apartment complex had to be fumigated because some _idiot_ was hoarding cockroaches in the apartment above hers. Thus, leaving her and her best friend pretty much homeless for a couple of days and causing them both to stay with Alice’s older sister.  _Convenient_ , isn’t it? Not to mention she had two other classes today after her test before her Science class in the evening.

 

Alice came up to a bench in front of the science building and sat down with a huff. A quarter past 6… I have to be in class in 15 minutes. Alice rested her head in her hands, her blonde hair was already falling out of it’s tiny ponytail and was made worse when she leaned over. Something Alice usually cared about and would fix, but she didn’t.  _It would be totally perfect if something awesome would happen to me today. Like winning a million dollars, or someone giving out free pizza… Actually, I think I’d rather just have the free pizza…_  

 

“ _You haven’t found that rabbit yet_?” Alice snapped her head up in the direction she heard the voice. 

 

“No, and it’s not like I can just check the  _security footage_! Because certain  _idiots_  turn off the cameras at night!”

 

 “ _Shhh_! _Dude_ , someone might hear you!” The two guys made eye contact with Alice and hastened their pace into the science building. Curious, as always, Alice quickly picked up her and her bags and followed them into the building. She couldn’t get far before Victoria caught up with her.

 

“So, did you ever find that freaky ass-“

 

“ _Language_ …” Scolded as she took off her sunglasses and put them in her bag.

 

“- _butt_  bunny?” Victoria asked, slinging an arm around her shorter friend’s shoulder. Alice was relieved that she decided not to tell her about the bunny biting her. Victoria would have worried her life away. “Wait, why are you still caring your bag-  _Oh_! You had that test this morning! How’d it go?” 

 

“How do you think it went?” Alice gestured at her appearance. Specifically her tired and pale face.

 

“What? You fit in now! You look like a tired and stressed college student who was riding the struggle bus all day!” Alice snorted at her friends comment and playfully pushed her away. “ _But hey_! At least your eyebrows are still on ‘fleek’, as the kids say. And your outfit is still cute. But I’m sure it was hard to focus because of shi- _crap_ hitting the fan this morning.” Alice nodded her head.  _It’s a good thing I didn’t tell her about that nightmare too because she would have totally looked way too into it._

 

Victoria patted her friends back, and headed off to class. “Oh, Al! _Remember_! Don’t fall asleep in class!  _Science weirdos!_ ” Victoria sang.

 

“ _And you’re still too paranoid_!” Alice sang back before making her way inside her lab room and sitting down by her lab partner. With a sigh, Alice and her partner began setting up the presentation and experiment for the lab project. 

 

“ _And there’s no hope of getting out of here before 9 o’clock this evening… Great.”_

           

                                            ...                                          ...                                        ...

 

“Miss Johnson… Miss Johnson… You need to wake up.” Alice’s frail and very old science professor started shaking her awake. “Miss Johnson, you can’t keep falling asleep in my class.” Alice lifted her head off her arm and rubbed her eyes, turning to her sweet and aged professor with an apologetic smile. 

 

“I’m very sorry, Professor Evans… I’ll make sure to get more sleep in the future…”

 

“Please do... Now, since you fell asleep through most of your classmates’ presentations, I need you to stay here and wipe off all the tables and cabinets.” The old man hobbled back over to his desk and began to get his roller bag together before heading out the door. “You know, your parents named you spectacularly well. _As I recall_ , little Alice in Old Disney’s film had the same problem you did: staring off into space, curious, a bit sassy, and  _very_  sleepy.” The old man gave a slight chuckle before exiting the lab. “Take care, Miss Johnson.” 

 

“O-Oh, _uh_ , you too, Professor…” Alice took a deep breath and let it out and looked over at the small mirror above the sink. Looking at her reflection was something she always seemed to do when anything about her parents was said. Her real parents. She’s always been aware that she was adopted. Especially considering she was adopted when she was 3 years old into a family that looked nothing like her. Her adopted mother was half Filipino and her father was African American. She actually knew them before her father passed away.

 

Alice tried to remember her father, but came up short once again. The only thing she could ever seem to remember about him was his hair because it was the same color as hers. It was a memory that she began to hold onto for dear life the older she got, and she prayed that it would never leave her. Alice let out a shaky breath before standing up and finally wiping down the tables so she could get the heck out of there.

 

                                              ...                                           ...                                        ...

 

“I can’t believe it’s seriously almost 10 o’clock now…” Alice complained to herself as she slung her backpack on her back and her overnight bag strap on her shoulder.  _Great… Just great… The lights in the building are already turned off-_

 

“ _What was that_?!” She quickly turned to the scratchy noise and grabbed her phone and turned on the flashlight this time. She pointed it down her class’s hall as she spotted the same white rabbit from the night before. She sprinted down the hall to the rabbit who then darted into another hallway and into the same classroom as the night before. Alice stopped outside the door, shaking her head.

 

“ _Nuh-uh, no way, monster rabbit_. I am _not_ following you in there…” Alice and the rabbit looked at each other for what seemed like ages before Alice finally made her way inside the room.

“ _Fine_ , you win...” Her curiosity was getting the best of her, yet again. The bunny hopped around a curtain as Alice made her way inside of the room. Following the rabbit around the black sheet, she stopped as she saw what the bunny was seemingly trying to climb on. A giant steel chest of some sort. Alice was instantly mesmerized by the chest that was at first plain and ordinary but began to glow with foreign writing appearing strategically around every inch. She placed her phone on the near by counter and dropped the rest of her things to the ground and started to push the chest aside, which was much easier than she thought it would be, and came face to face with a giant hole. Alice blinked several times coming out of her trance and silently growled with annoyance.

 

“ _Really_? A white rabbit and a hole in the ground... _Awesome_...” Alice huffed and sat down on the ground, crossing her legs.

 

“ _What now_?” She jokingly asked the bunny. The lights in the science lab came on and footsteps could be heard. At the same time, the rabbit looked at her and then jumped into the hole…

 

“ _No_!” Alice shouted as she reached into the hole to catch the bunny, but ended up losing balance and falling head first into darkness.

 

                                              ...                                            ...                                       ...   

 

“ _Sir!_ There’s someone in here!”

 

 “Well, _don’t just stand there_ , look for them!” A straggly, oiled hair boy peeked behind the curtain first, expecting to see the chest and the unwelcomed person; however, he wasn’t expecting this.

 

“Uh… Dude- _Sir_ … You need to come see this…” The guy in the lab coat from the night before made his way around the curtain and pulled it away completely; his jaw dropped.

 

“ _The hole... the chest… I-It’s gone…_ ” And it was. Along with the bunny, Alice’s bags, and Alice.

 

“Uh, _Sir_ , someone’s phone... Maybe it belongs to who shouted.” The man in the lab coat walked over to his assistant and snatched the phone from his hand and pressed the home button. A picture of Alice and Victoria were shown on the lock screen along with some messages from Victoria and her sister, Sara. “Oh, _dude_! I know them. This must be the blond girl’s phone. She’s super quiet. Man, _What was her name_ -“

 

“Alice. _Alice_... _He’s_ going to be pleased.” A sly smile pulled across the man’s face as he turned off the phone’s flashlight and stuck the phone in his lab coat pocket and made his way out of the room.

 

“ _He’s_ going to be _very_ pleased.”

 


End file.
